The fate of five houses bordering IU remains in limbo as the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission again tabled a vote on their demolition.
At its meeting last week, the commission voted near unanimously to postpone a vote on the five historic houses in the 300 block of Jefferson Street on the campus’ east side.
It’s the second straight meeting a decision has been tabled.
One of the sticking points is whether to designate the entire neighborhood as historic. That could protect the homes in the long run, but a decision is needed soon. A sale of the homes is contingent on a decision on their demolition.
Commissioner Ashley Johnson proposed a compromise.
“I'm hearing more of an interest in protecting this neighborhood as a whole, rather than, I care about these buildings that face IU,” Johnson said. “So, you could let these go, if you wanted, and still protect the neighborhood.
“I'm not arguing for that. I'm just saying this is an option. You could say, ‘those go, but we're now making this a priority to protect this neighborhood, because this represents postwar Bloomington, and we don't want to see this whole neighborhood go.’”
Commissioner Reynard Cross argued against sacrificing the five houses.
“The thing, though, is kind of like allowing you to cut the leg off, while you concern yourself about preserving the body,” he said.
There’s also concern about how the city council would react to the ask for a historic designation for a neighborhood.
“We don't have the support of the city council right now,” commissioner Karen Duffy said. “And the last attempt with Cascades was brutal.”
Cross said that shouldn’t be a consideration.
“If we decide that something is worthy of protection, that decision should not be based on whether it can pass the city council for protection, or whether it will get this support or that support,” Cross said.
Duffy also said they would need to hear more support for the designation from the people in the neighborhood.
The commissioners requested a map of neighborhood boundaries be presented at its next meeting for consideration before voting to allow demolition of the houses.
The next Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission meeting is on June 13.
